SCS Issues Guidelines for Information Security in a Smart City

Securing Smart Cities (SCS) , the not-for-profit global initiative that addresses the cyber security challenges of smart cities has today released guidelines on the role of information security within a smart city department (SCD).

In previous document on the Cyber Security Guidelines for Smart City Technology Adoption, Securing Smart Cities had identified identified the cyber security planning, evaluation and operational requirements for smart city technologies; this new guidelines discusses the Smart City Department information security role, its influence on technology adoption, services quality, legislative compliance, interorganizational and intraorganizational information and communication resilience in addition to the efficiency and sustainability of operations. The purpose, according to the initiative is to provide guidelines for public and private organizations when planning and building their SCDs, that could be used as a baseline for the role development of emerging smart city departments or similar functions, helping provide a certain level of assurance and trust to operations and services, thus supporting the promotion and propagation of smart city services. It also aims to provide public and private organisations with a baseline when developing the information security role within the SCD they are creating, supporting the promotion and propagation of smart city services.

In smart cities, information security plays a major role in protecting the higher levels of confidentiality, availability, and integrity as well as the stability that national services and organisations need to support sustainable and livable smart environments. This guide provides an illustration of the key elements that organisations need to examine, and be aware of, when defining the role of SCDs, in order to achieve the best safety and resilience, from the influence of technology adoption, services quality, and legislative compliance, to the efficiency and sustainability of operations.

“These guidelines are yet another step towards Securing Smart Cities (SSC), as the name of the initiative suggests. We’re trying to enhance everyone’s understanding of the smart city requirements, by developing useful insights and sharing expertise with the people who will be responsible for the development and management of smart cities. The document is based on the experience of the SSC community members, who are involved in large scale cyber governance, as well as other security specialists: from penetration testers to industrial security experts,” Mohamad Amin Hasbini, Securing Smart Cities board member and security expert at Kaspersky Lab said.

“In-keeping with our efforts to provide practical resources for organisations, the Securing Smart Cities initiative is releasing these new guidelines to help provide valuable recommendations in making our current and future cities more secure,” Cesar Cerrudo, Securing Smart Cities board member and chief technology officer for IOActive added.

The outline of the Smart City Department Cyber Security Role and Implications guide includes the description of SCD and its cyber security responsibilities, including: Governance and leadership support, Infrastructure support, Risk management optimisation,Legal support and Collaborative threat intelligence.